722 The Future Belongs to the Young (1/2)
Carl Spicer had criticized Twain's recruitment strategy for the summer in his column. He believed that Twain was living in a fantasy if he intended to employ a team made up of young players the following season.
His views were met with approval from numerous media outlets, and led to the successive arrival of various other criticisms.
Some of those criticisms were against Twain, and some were against the club, while others pointed their fingers at the players.
”I don't believe Tony Twain will be able to achieve any notable results this season.”
”The club spent money buying all these young players, and it will quickly be proven that they have invested wrongly.”
”Nicolás Millán? I'm sorry, I haven't even heard of the name before…”
”Tony Twain must be dreaming if he thinks he can make the team powerful just by bringing in all these young players with potential. Is he trying to replicate Manchester United's Class of '92? This is nothing more than a complete farce in my eyes!”
Even Pierce Brosnan, the journalist for the Nottingham Evening Post who had always supported Twain, published an article expressing his concern at how Twain had mostly bought young players over the summer.
He opined that it was worrying that Twain had pinned his hopes on a team of young players between the ages of 17 and 18. He did not doubt that Twain had brought in talented youths, but he felt that grooming these youths was a process that would take time. They might turn out to be great players in a few years' time, but was Forest going to rely solely on them at present?
He tried his best to be as tactful as he could, and to phrase his words nicely as much as possible in the article.
However, his article still angered the King.
He received a call from Twain, and a flood of admonishments came his way the moment he picked up.
”What the hell are you writing about in your article, Mr. Reporter? Are you trying to denounce me? Thank goodness I didn't plan on publishing an article in a column in your newspaper—otherwise I'd have become a big f*cking joke! An article written by me scolding the media, and the article from you casting doubt on me would have been published at the same time in the newspaper… Hmm?”
”But…but Mr. Twain, I only wrote what I wrote out of concern as a Forest fan…”
”Forest fan? Have you gone out on the street to interview people? Are those fans worried? Can you represent their opinion?”
”Based on what I understand so far…Yes, they are worried, Mr. Twain. They are all worried about the overly young team that you have right now…”
”They have their reasons to be worried! But you don't have the right to publish them! Do you know what I've been doing every single day besides training the players? I've been inculcating the footballing spirit of Nottingham Forest in these youngsters! I've been telling them that whatever the media says is bullsh*t, and that they are actually much better than what the media makes them out to be! I've been trying to instill confidence in them all this while…And here you are trying to wreck my plans! You have to understand where you are coming from, Mr. Reporter. You are the local newspaper for Nottingham, and you represent the voice of Nottingham—you can't get in my way like this! If we start fighting amongst ourselves, then aren't we just going to end up becoming a laughingstock to others?”
”But what I'm saying is the truth…”
”Screw your f*cking truth! I'm the only one who needs to know about the truth! What you need to do is give the youngsters confidence—confidence and more confidence! The reason I gave you access to the club's exclusive information was not for you to be loggerheads with me! Are you a Nottingham Forest fan or not? Do you wish for Nottingham Forest to become better, Mr. Reporter?”
”Of…of course I wish for that…”
”Then you go out there and write a story about how these youngsters are the best in the world! The best! It doesn't matter if you praise them to the skies. Don't worry about them letting your words go to their heads. It's my job to make sure that doesn't happen, Mr. Reporter.”
Pierce felt wronged, and was reluctant to do as Twain said, but he could not continue squabbling with Twain over the phone. After remembering that Twain had a heart condition, he was worried about sending him back to the hospital.
”All right… I will accept this suggestion of yours, Mr. Twain.”
Twain's voice softened a little after hearing his words. ”Remember this, Mr. Reporter. You represent Nottingham, and you are the voice of Nottingham Forest. No matter what happens, you must always stand on our side. I need you to be a voice of support. When the other media outlets out there are questioning my team, you have to step out and defend us. Do you know what I mean by 'the atmosphere at our home grounds?' Don't think that you only get that kind of atmosphere when you're at the stands of the City Ground stadium. What these youngsters need is not the media's disapproval of them. It's praise! Don't focus on anything else. You're only getting in my way if you do.”
Two days later, an article was published in the Nottingham Evening Post by Pierce Brosnan. In it, he interviewed the young players playing for Nottingham Forest. He wrote about how the young players had a lot of fight and resolve going into the next season, and displayed a tightly-knit and optimistic team to the public.
Of course, the article had been published at Twain's behest. Twain couldn't care less about Pierce Brosnan and his 'position as a journalist.' All he cared about were the things that benefited him, and those that did not.
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Twain's anger towards Brosnan's earlier article was well grounded.
The truth was that Twain was actually happy that the other media outlets out there were chastising his players. He had only been feigning fury at their words. This was because he could make use of the opportunity to unite the youngsters as one.
It also gave him the chance to bring out the fight in the young players, and paradoxically, to build up their confidence by telling them, 'Look, the media does not think highly of you lot.' The youngsters were all at a rebellious age, so it was a good way to direct those fiery emotions of theirs towards the media instead. Then, he could tell them that he, Tony Twain, would always stand with them—that he would believe in them forever, and that they were the best!
Those words would get the young players fired up, and itching to prove their abilities on the pitch.
Afterwards, it would be up to Twain's ability to train and discipline the players.
He did not worry about the youths breaking free of his control over them, regardless of whether the team lost or won.
But Brosnan's previous article showed the world that he was more aware of the situation at Nottingham Forest than others.
All along, the Nottingham Evening Post had acted as Twain's spokesperson. It had been derided by others as a newspaper that was devoid of the principles of good journalism when it came to issues surrounding Nottingham Forest. However, the Nottingham Forest fans did not share their sentiments. They enjoyed reading articles that praised the Forest team. They would pay attention to the articles published in the Nottingham Evening Post. Nobody likes to read about criticisms against the team they support.
A media outlet that had always supported him had suddenly questioned him. That definitely made him feel uncomfortable.
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Nottingham Forest did not make a trip to Asia for money during their pre-season days. Neither did they go to North America. The team did not even step out of Nottingham and visit other areas in Britain. They simply stayed in their training grounds and had practice matches with a few other British football teams.
Twain had arranged for more practice matches this year, because he hoped to bring the team together by playing more matches. This would help the young players get used to the way the team played more quickly.
It was also a good chance for him to observe and pick out the players who would be a part of his plans for the coming season. There were things he wouldn't be able to discern during training. The best way to judge a player's abilities is always through actual matches.
Twain found Adriano Moke, the player who Greenwood rated very highly, to be very disappointing after observing his performances over a few practice matches.
His physique, which was prone to injuries, constantly gave him the disadvantage when he was engaged in physical battles with his opponents. He might be good at dribbling and getting past his opponents, but those things meant nothing if he couldn't get into physical battles with other players. There is no soccer match in the world that doesn't involve physical contact between players.
If a player wasn't good with physical battles, then it didn't matter how good his technique might be. He was not a player that Twain wanted.
On the other hand, the player who had not stood out for a few years on the reserve team, Chris Cohen, impressed Twain. His performance on the left flank was noteworthy. His pace and technique did not rival Moke's, but he performed better on the whole than Moke.